Refrigerated display case having humidifying means



Nov. 28, 1950 H. GENECK 2,531,506

REFRIGERATED DISPLAY CASE HAVING HUMIDIFYING MEANS Filed Oct. 29. 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. 17 19199) 55217175 H. GENECK Nov. 28, 1950 REFRIGERATED DISPLAY CASE HAVING HUMIDIFYING MEANS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 29, 1946 INVENTOR.

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Patented Nov. 28,1950

OFFICE- REFRIGERATED DISPLAY CASE HAVING HUMIDIFYING MEANS Harry Geneck, Spokane, Wash.

Application October 29, 1946, Serial No. 706,474

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in a display stand. The display stand to which my invention applies is so used for displaying produce of various types. particularly vegetables and fruits. in

grocery markets where the products are open for inspection by the public and therefore are exposed to the air in the store. In such display cabinets it is desirable to have the products so displayed as to be readily accessible to the public and in such quantities as to permit sales from the display stock throughout mostof an ordinary business day without the necessity of frequent replenishment. The best position for display is one in which the product is so arranged that the buyer in passing by it can conveniently look down upon it at a relatively close level. The capacity of the stand has to be quite large so the construction must be such as to permit long display stands to be used.

It is the purpose of my invention to provide a novel display stand wherein the products displayed are arranged so as to be open to the publie, but wherein the products are kept at the proper cooled temperature and are prevented from drying out by maintaining them under a cool blanket of air charged with moisture. The maintenance of the moisture content of the air must be either substantially continuous or at such frequent intervals as to prevent drying out of the products. 1

It is also a purpose of my invention to provide in a display stand of the character described, a novel display construction which permits the va rious products to be arranged in rows spaced according to the demand for products with adequate drainage for any excess moisture that may be delivered in the maintenance of the proper moisture content over the product.

It is also a purpose of my invention to provide a novel air circulating and cooling mechanism in a display stand of this character whereby proper distribution of the cold. blanket of air over the product is attained.

It is also a purpose of my invention to provide in a display stand of the character described a novel arrangement of parts whereby the moisture content of the air supplied over the products may be regulated to suit any particular condition without disturbing the flow of air in a continuous fashion over the products being displayed.

A further and more detailed object of my invention is to provide in a display stand a combination with an air circulating unit of a distributing box arranged to pre-cool the air in con- 2 tact with water and to thereafter lower the tem perature of the air further by refrigeration while distributing it uniformly throughout the length of the display stand and subsequently entraining a mist of moisture in the air before directing. it

down over the products.

The novel features that I consider characteristic of my invention are set forth with particularity in the claims. The invention itself; however, both as to its organization and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantage thereof, will be understood from the description of a specific embodiment when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a cross sectional view through a display stand embodying my invention;

Figure 2- isa front view of the stand showing how it'is arranged to carry the vegetables, fruits and the like;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1; and

Figure 5 is a somewhat diagrammatic view illustrating the control apparatus by whichthe supply of moisture to the display stand is maintained; and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating a modified form of'air deflector for controlling the distributing of air over the produce.

Referring now to the drawings, particularly Figures 1 and 2, my invention is embodied in a display stand, the main body portion of which comprises end panels 9, a front panel ill, a base II, a back panel l2 and a top panel l3. Preferably, these panels are made of a suitable sheet metal such as sheet aluminum and are secured together in any suitable fashion, such for example, as means of the angles l4, l5 and IS. The wall portions may be of any desired length. Preferably the display stand is made up sectionally,

'using standard lengths of say 10 feet per section for the various wall portions. It is only necessary then to abut the standard sections together to make longer display stands. These display stands are provided at the front of the top wall l3 with illuminating means indicated generally .by the numeral ll, whereby the produce to be Flanges l9 and 20 A .front of which individual characters 22 may be opening recess 24 in which suitable illuminating means such-as the fluorescent lamps 25 are mounted. Cross ties 26 extend from the member I 8 to the rear wall l2 and are connected to the channel 23 to complete the construction of the upper portion of the display cabinet.

. sage 42 as illustrated in the dotted lines in Figure 5. The lips 43 are not continuous throughout the length of the display stand but are made in sections sothat one portion of the passage 42 The display portion -proper of the cabinet is supported on a platform member 21 which, as shown, comprisesan L-shaped' metal sheet, the upstanding flange 28 of which serves as a back piece. The sheet 21 is suitably supported in the case'by cross members 29 and they are secured at their opposite ends to the front wall I0 and the rear wall I 2'. Also intermediate the front and back walls l0 and 12, the plate 21 is additionally supported by an upstanding wall 30 that extends full length of the display case. The front edge of the plate 21 terminates short of the upper inner edge 10a of the front wall l0 so as'to leave an opening 31 for the downward passage of air, water and the like. A front wall 32 preferably of glass or similar transparent material is mounted on the portion Illa of the front wall and projects upwardly a substantial distance therefrom. The panel 32 is secured by suitable securing strips 33 spaced at intervals lengthwise 01 the display stand. A small angle strip 34 forms a stop for the lower edge of the panel 32. A removable screen plate 35 is arranged over the opening 3|.

Since considerable moisture is generally found on the produce or maintained there by circulation of the water-laden air over the produce, it is necessary to provide drainage whereby the excess water may drain off the plate 21. At the front edge of the plate I mount a metal barrier 36 which serves to keep the produce rearward of the screen 35. This barrier 35 is substantially L-shaped in cross section with spaced lugs 31 arranged at intervals lengthwise of the barrier to rest upon the plate 21. The barrier is fastened to the plate 21 by screws which extend down through the lugs and thread into the plate 21.

It should be noted that the illumination from the fluorescent lamps 25 is directed down upon the plate 21. A further feature of the display stand is the provision of a mirror strip 33 above the upper edge of the flange 28 which forms the back wall of the display area. This mirror is so produce is displayed twice, once bythe direct appearance on the plate 21 and again by the reflection from the mirror. The mirror 38 is may be closed to keep air and water off of a particular part of the produce without preventing it from spreading over the rest of the produce dis- .played in the stand.

A novel arrangement is provided for support- I ing various types of produce on the plate 21. A

. shelf member 45 is constructed of a suitable nonrusting sheet metal such as stainless steel or aluminum. This member has side flanges 46 and 41 (see Figures 1 and 3) which normally rest on the plate 21 and support the member 45 so that it slopes downwardly from the flange 28 to a point adjacent the barrier 35. The rear edge of the member 45 has a down turned lip 48. The flange 28 has a series of lugs 49 arranged thereon so as to receive the flange 48 and hold the member 45 in a raised position such as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 1 whenever it is desired to have a more shallow display area. When it is desired tohave a deep display area, the member mounted by means of suitable mounting strips 39 and 48 at the upper edge, these strips being secured to the cross ties 26 and the channel 23. At its lower edge, the mirror is supported on a curved deflector M which is secured to the back wall [2 and curves forwardly and upwardly over the top edge of the flange 28 to provide a narrow passage 42 for directing a sheet of cool waterladen air forwardly over the plate 21.

In Figure 5 of the drawings, I show a modified deflector plate 41a which has means for closing off entirely the passageway 42. In this form of the device a lip 43 is mounted for adjustment on the deflector 41a and can be moved outwardly to direct the air and in a more downward direction and as moved out to its full limit the lip is turned over so that the flanges 46 and 41 extend upwardly and the main portion of the member 45 lies flat against the plate 21. The members 45 are made in widths that are convenient to handle, such as 30 inches. It is believed to be apparent that two adjacent members may be arranged with one inverted and the other right side up and the adjacent edge portions 46 and 41 will form a partition to prevent the produce from getting beneath the one that is right side up. In fact the one that is right side up may be raised to the dotted line position shown in Figure 1 without opening any passage for the produce to get beneath it.

In order to maintain straight division lines at variable intervals between adjacent groups of produce arranged on the shelf member 45, I provide partition members 50 which are adapted to be placed at the desired intervals upon the shelf members 45 and which will be held in place by the produce itself. The members 50 are alike and are constructed by bending a sheet of metal upon itself to form an upstanding ridge 5| (see Figure 3) and then bending the sheet member outwardly in opposite directions to form ridges 52 and 53 which are of substantial width such as about 4 inches. These ridges rest on the shelf members 45 and when the produce is placed within the space between the adjacent members 50 it will in part rest on the flanges 52 and 53 so as to secure the members 50 in place. Thus it is possible when two adjacent spaces on opposite sides of the member 50 are filled to remove all of the material on one side without causing the member 50 to spread away from the filled side.

Referring now to the means for maintaining the blanket of air over the produce that is arranged on the shelf members 45, I provide beneath the plate 21 an air distribution chamber 55. This chamber is formed by means of the supporting wall 30, a bottom wall 56 and a rear flange 51, which flange is secured to the rear wall 12. The chamber extends full length of the display case and forms a trough in which a body of water indicated at 53 ismaintained. An overflow pipe 59 maintains the level of the water 58. Air is forced into the chamber 55 by means of a centrifugal fan 60.which is mounted on a supporting platform 6! in the display stand. The fan 60 has its outlet 62 extending through an aperture 63 that is provided in the wall 30. Preferably the cosmos outlet 02 is fltted rather closely in the aperture '3 so that the fan maybuild up a substantial air pressure in the chamber 55. The fan 80 is driven by a motor 84 and draws the air down through the'screen 35 and the opening I I. Since moisture also passes down through the opening ll, I provide a drain trough 65 directly beneath the opening 3i and a drain 'pipe 66 carries the water from the trough to the overflow pipe 59 and out through a discharge pipe 61 for disposal.

A refrigeration unit 68 is mounted between the upstanding flange 28 and the rear 'wall l2. This refrigeration unit is shown somewhat diagram- .matically in Figure 4 as comprising cooling coils 69 which extend lengthwise of the cabinet and are supplied with a suitable cooling medium. The cells 69 are provided with closely spaced fins that substantially flll the space between the wall l2 and the flange 28 for a substantial distance upwardly from the bottom edge of the flange 28. Thus the air which is blown through the chamber 65 must pass upwardly around the refrigeration coils 69 and their fins 10 to reach the outlet channel or opening 42. This cool air, of course is laden with moisture because of the fact that it is in contact with the water 58.

It is not sufficient for most vegetables and fruits to merely employ air of nearly 100 percent humidity as a cooling medium because the produce will dry out to a serious extent under such circumstances. I provide means whereby a mist of moisture can be entrained with the air so as to spray the moisture over the produce in order to maintain the proper moisture content.

I provide a pump II driven by a motor 11 (see Figure 6) and a cooling unit 12 by which water may be drawn from any suitable source such as a city water supply and cooled down to the desired temperature and supplied to the air being forced through the chamber 55. The water from the cooling unit 12 is forced upwardly through pipe coils l5 immersed in the water bath 58 to a series of distributing pipes 14 which have spray nozzles 15- at their upper ends. These spray nozzles are located between the wall l2 and the flange 28 above the refrigerating unit 68 and are adapted'to deliver the water in a fine spray of mist directly to the air before it passes through outlet passage 42. Thus the moisture can be entrained and delivered in the blanket of air that is forced out over the produce. erably is controlled by a timer 16 so that it can be turned off and on at frequent intervals, because it has been found that it is necessary to vary the amount of time that the moisture is applied in order to obtain the best results. The timer is set to automatically start and stop the pump at frequent intervals and to regulate the proportion of time of any given period during which to operate. The details of the timer are not shown since this device is commercially obtainable. As an example of a cycle of operation, a device has been used where the moisture is sprayed for two minutes out of a seven minute cycle and cut off for the remaining five minutes. During extremely hot weather it was found to be necessary to increase the time during which the moisture was supplied up to about four minutes of the seven minute cycle. In cooler weather it has been possible to operate the unit only to supply moisture two minutes of the seven minutes. The foregoing operation is of course, merely an example as it would be appreciated that various conditions may necessitate the use of a different cycle.

It may be desirable for the purpose of maintaining the proper temperatures in the chamber 55 and the air passage to the outlet 42 to insulate the back wall I2. I have shown as an example, an auxiliary wall I9 spaced from the wall 12 so as to provide an insulating space I8 that may be filled with any desired insulation.

It is believed that the nature and advantages of my invention will be clear from the foregoing description. The particular matter of supplying theair in its cooled and moistened condition as a sheet or blanket issuing from the passage 42 in combination with the front barrier 32 and the down draft at the opening 3| enables me to maintain the cool blanket of air directly over the produce from the passage 42 to the opening 3| with very little intermixing of warm air in the room with it. This is due to the fact that 1 direct the cool air in a downward directionwhich takes advantageof the tendency of the warmer air to be replaced upwardly by the cool air because the warm air is lighter. Thus the blanket of cool air serves to protect the produce from the warm air in the store and, since it travels in the most natural direction for it to take. this blanket of cold air will maintain or re-establish itself when'broken by removal of produce items, to cover the entire produce display area and to effectively block on warm air from the produce area.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A display stand comprising in combination a casing having a rear wall and a lower front a top wall extending forwardly from the top of the rear wall, a display platform disposed between the front and backv walls and spaced from both of them, said platform having an upstanding rear wall, an air distributing box beneath said platform, a fan beneath the platform for forcing air into said box, a screened inlet between the front wall and the front edge of the platform for air to the fan, the front wall having a shield thereon extending substantially The pump prefabove the inlet, said platform having a substantially lower shield at its forward edge for separating produce on the platform from said inlet, an outlet channel for said box extending upwardly between the rear wall of the casing and the rear wall of the platform, a top shield extending forwardly from the back wall of said channel in proximity to and directly over the rear wall of the platform, said shield including adjustable means for varying the amount of air delivered to a particular section of the platform, means in said channel to cool the air, and spray heads in the channel for supplying moisture to the air.

2. A display stand comprising in combination a casing having a rear wall and a lower front wall, a top wall extending forwardly from the top of the rear wall, a display platform disposed between the front and back walls and spaced from both of them, said platform having an up- I standing rear wall, an air distributing box beneath said platform, a fan beneath the platform for forcing air into said box, said box having a body of water therein for supplying moisture to the air, a screened inlet between the front wall and the front edge of the platform for air to the fan, the front wall having a shield thereon extending substantially above the inlet, said platform having a substantially lower shield at its forward edge for separating produce on the platform from said inlet, an outlet channel for said box extending upwardly between the rear wall of the casing and the rear wall of the platform.

and opening forwardly over the rear wall of the platform, air deflecting means above the rear wall of the platform for directing the air forwardly over the platform, and air cooling means in said channel.

3. A display stand comprising in combination a casing having a rear wall and a lower front wall, a top wall extending forwardly from the top of the rear wall, a display platform disposed between the front and back walls and spaced from both of them, said platform having an upstanding rear wall, an air distributing box beneath said platform, a fan beneath the plat form for forcing air into said box, a screened inlet between the front wall and the front edge of the platform for air to the fan, the front wall having a shield thereon extending substantially above the inlet, said platform having a substantially lower shield at its forward edge for separating produce on the platform from said inlet, an outlet channel for said box extending upwardly between the rear wall of the casing and the rear wall of the platform, and opening forwardly over the rear wall of the platform, and means for cooling and supplying moisture to the air before it is discharged over the platform from said channel comprising cooling coils and water supplying means in the path of the air from the fan to the discharge opening of the outlet channel, at least part of the water supplying means being positioned to supply water to the air after it passes the cooling coils.

4. A display stand comprising in combination a casing having a rear wall and a lower front wall, a top wall extending forwardly from the top of the rear wall, a display platform disposed between the front and back walls and spaced from both of them, said platform having an upstanding rear wall, an air distributing box be- .neath said platform, a fan beneath the platform for forcing air intosaid box, a screened inlet between the front wall and the front'edge of the platform for air to the fan, the front wall having a shield thereon extending. substantially above the inlet, an outlet channel for said box extending upwardly between the rear wall of the casing and the rear wall of the platform, and opening forwardly over the rear wall of the platform, air deflecting means above the-rear wall REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 30 Number Name Date 2,066,312 Bales Jan. 5, 1937 2,243,958 Hermann June 3, 1941 2,298,526 Caulk Oct. 13, 1942 2,421,314 Brinkoeter 'May 2'7, 1947 2,447,760 MacMaster Aug. 24, 1948 

